GUWAHATI: More than 2,000 people were arrested on Friday in India’s remote northeast after a government crackdown on illegal child marriages, police said.

India is home to more than 220 million child brides, according to UN figures, but the number of child weddings has fallen dramatically this century.

The two-week police campaign in Assam state began on Friday after chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma called on public help to abolish the “evil practice”.

Sarma said almost one in every eight women in Assam had to bear children before turning 18 which was contributing to high infant and maternal mortality rates in the state.

State police director general GP Singh said 2,044 people were arrested in the first day, including 52 priests and legal authorities who had presided over marriages.

Published in Dawn, February 4th, 2023